I've written about Brazil pre-Lula and post-Lula and spent the last five years covering all aspects of the country for Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal and Barron's. Meanwhile, for an undetermined amount of time, and with a little help from my friends, I will be parachuting primarily into Brazil, Russia, India and China. But will also be on the look out for interesting business stories and investing ideas throughout the emerging markets.

So says a survey conducted by online market research firm USamp. Letting employees work from home cuts down on waste and electricity.

Here’s the rub, the study was funded by 13 year old telepresence software maker TeamViewer. They found that people who work from home are more apt to care for the environment insofar as they don’t leave the lights on all day and tend to recycle in their own home.

When they’re in the office, they can care less if the lights are on all night or if they throw that bottle of Odwalla Super Protein in the trash can instead of a recycle bin.

When asked how strongly environmental concerns weigh into the decision a boss makes on whether or not to allow telecommuting, surprising numbers of them said it matters, according to the survey results. A relatively high 42% said environmental concerns weighed strongly or very strongly into allowing employees to work from home. An impressive 62% said the environment considerations were considered at least somewhat strongly.

“The study shows that not only do employees stand to save money when they are able to work from home, but the specific behavioral changes that people exhibit contribute significantly to the conservation of our environment,” said Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer.

The survey, which was aimed at determining the environmental impact of working from home in advance of Earth Day on Monday, found that a majority of respondents find that they take proactive actions at home that they don’’t take at work to save on waste and conserve energy.

It makes sense, of course. When at home, the energy you’re wasting is your own and not someone else’s.

From the press release:

Turn lights off when not in a room: – 74%

Keep heating and air-conditioning low to save energy: – 56%

Print minimal amounts of paper: – 53%

Power down computer at night:– 50%

Recycle:– 39%

Avoid bottled water: – 34%

Earth Day became a larger national event in 2009, though the idea started back in the 1960s by peace activist John McConnell. McConnell died on Oct. 2012 in Colorado at the age of 97.

For the last several years, Earth Day has been observed on April 22. Around 190 countries participate. The night is often marked by city skylines powering down office tower lights and outdoor, illuminated advertising for around an hour.

This year’s theme is “the face of climate change.” Organizers at the Earth Day Network promote ways in which individuals and corporations can conserve.

According to TeamViewer’s survey participants, one way is to work from home.

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Going green is in vogue and as virtual working totally supports the green cause, it has gained significance not only among employees looking to strike a better work-life balance but also among companies vying to prove their credentials as being environment friendly organisations. These companies value public opinion and want to project themselves as responsible bodies that show concern for the planet’s fragile ecological balance, as against the popular impression of being indifferent, profit driven businesses in a corporate, materialistic world. For more on how global businesses are increasingly espousing the Green Cause please read my blog post http://blog.arise.com/uk/clients/virtual-working-for-a-greener-planet/